Calls for a Formula One race in South Africa
Formula One owner, Liberty Media, wants to take the motoring showpiece to new territories, focusing on “destination cities” to broaden the race’s appeal – with calls to include South Africa.
The media company aims to increase the event to 25 Grand Prix per year, from its current 21-race schedule.
According to the Financial Times, plans to expand the event have already run into problems, with a street race in Miami, Florida, shelved, while another planned race in Copenhagen has also been abandoned. A race in Las Vegas may prove more fruitful, the FT said.
Liberty acquired a majority stake in commercial rights to F1 from private equity firm CVC in 2016.
The addition of a street race in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi to the Formula One calendar in 2020 is the first fruit of the US owner’s desire to expand the series to as many as 25 races.
It reported that Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost supports attempts to expand the sport. “We should organise a race in South Africa, Argentina and India, and a second event in America — all pivotal markets for our commercial partners,” he said.
Sean Bratches, managing director for commercial operations at Liberty’s Formula One Group, said the expansion strategy remains on track. He told F1’s official website, that the company is targeting a street race in London.
Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone called for a street race in Cape Town in 2015.
And in 2016, several private sector players targeted a race in Johannesburg, at a refurbished Kyalami, after it was bought by Porsche. The cost to host the event however, was estimated at R1-billion .
Bratches told the FT that Liberty ‘is receiving expressions of interest from cities and countries around the world’.
Read: How much it costs to host a Formula One race in Joburg
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